March is National Peanut Month, and many times, peanuts can get a bad rap because of peanut allergies. They are a super healthy and inexpensive source of nutrients and protein. Let’s dispel one myth before we go any further: the peanut is not a nut! It’s a legume related to beans and peas and marked by the distinct oddity that after fertilization, it pushes itself underground to mature.
History
Peanuts have a humble origin, starting in South America and spreading through the slave trade. Peanuts are still a big hit in Africa and Asia and are a significant part of much of the cuisine. Slaves brought the peanut with them to North America, where it was not received well. Peanuts were considered the only food for livestock and the poor. In fact, the song “Eating Goober Peas” was about how the Confederate soldiers were struggling so hard that all they had to eat was peanuts. Peanuts were so underestimated by the general population that they did not even have an official name until the 20th century. Depending on the geography, they were called everything from groundnut, pindar, and ground pea to mandible or monkey nut.
Increasing Popularity
PT Barnum was the first to popularize the peanut in the 1800’s. His traveling circuses would roast them and sell them hot to the crowds, which were soon picked up by street vendors and at baseball games. Nowadays, peanuts at a baseball game are about as American as apple pie. These peanuts were nothing like the ones we eat today. Peanut harvests were very labor-intensive, and they were tough to grow, so they were roasted, stems, leaves, and all.
Leading Up to the Cash Crop
It wasn’t until the 1900s, when labor-saving equipment was invented for planting, cultivating, harvesting, and picking peanuts from the plants, as well as for shelling and cleaning the kernels that the peanut became a significant agricultural crop for the southern US. It even rivaled the production of cotton when people learned of the peanut’s versatility and delicious taste.
Now peanuts are the 12th most valuable cash crop grown in the United States with a farm value of over one billion U.S. dollars, according to The American Peanut Council. Peanuts, peanut butter, and peanut candy are some of the most popular products in the United States. Americans eat more than six pounds of peanut products each year. Peanut butter accounts for about half of the U.S. edible use of peanuts.
Nutritional Insights
The health benefits of peanuts are far-reaching. Recently, the FDA has labeled peanuts as “healthy” food due to the change in regulations. Although about 80% of the calories in peanuts come from fat, the types of fat in peanuts are polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat, which do not raise cholesterol. They are a good source of vegetable protein that has been shown to lower cholesterol, especially when it replaces animal protein and saturated fat in the diet. A recent study published in the journal BMC Medicine says that eating a handful of peanuts a day can be connected to lowering your risk of stroke. Peanuts are rich in fiber and can help lower your cholesterol, both of which help with decreasing the risk of stroke. Peanuts have a heart health claim from the FDA that says the science suggests but doesn’t prove that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most nuts, including peanuts, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease. Peanuts have more protein than any other nut and are packed with 30 essential vitamins and minerals. They are another rich dietary source of heart-healthy resveratrol, the same compound found in red wine and grapes. There is some evidence that resveratrol may reduce the risk of heart disease and possibly cancer.
Less Processed the Better
While peanut butter is delicious, especially when combined with chocolate, conventional peanut butter can contain hydrogenated oils, sugar, salt, and other ingredients such as soy protein, corn syrup, and stabilizers. Natural peanut butter contains just peanuts and salt, and often, the oil separates to the top. The difference in nutrition mostly centers around the ‘added sugar’ in conventional peanut butter. If you don’t mind stirring your peanut butter, natural is a good way to cut out added sugar and extra preservatives. Additionally, you can make your own peanut butter with a food processor and unsalted, shelled peanuts.
Enjoy Them in Multiple Ways
There are many ways to enjoy your peanuts outside of the good old PB, and J. Peanuts are delicious in stir-fries, added to steamed vegetables, on top of fruit salads, yogurt, hot cereal, or chopped up in your favorite baked goods. Peanut powder is one way to add protein and other nutrients to a smoothie or a shake. In addition, they are great for a snack. A one-ounce serving of peanuts is about 28 nuts and has only 160 calories, giving you 7 grams of protein and 2.5 grams of fiber.
No matter how you like your peanuts, there is no denying the health benefits. They may have come from humble origins, but they are now one of the major agricultural staples in the United States.
Written by Vicki Hayman, MS, University of Wyoming Extension Nutrition and Food Safety Educator
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